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Tag Archives: Skeletal Lamping

More Photos HERE.
For those who know of Montreal might know them as a super flamboyant troupe that can round up a crowd of sweet smelling pretty girls and boys who lust after lead singer Kevin Barnes’ sexual copiousness. It wasn’t always this way, but as time went by members disbanded, got married, rehabilitated, and regrouped. In between, I guess you could say they found the voice they were looking for all those years. With over a decades worth of albums, of Montreal have traveled a lengthy journey to where they are now. Ten years ago you could listen to Kevin sing about fairies living life through an unconscious slumber (see album Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse) and before that of Montreal was part of The Gay Parade. (The album is a personal favorite of mine, but it’s narrative style seems to be a bit much for newer of Montreal fans. I still say it would make for a great play). It wasn’t until their 2004 release “Satanic Panic in the Attic” that the pieces started to stay glued together, and the songs became more like a journal for Kevin Barnes’ personal afflictions and affections . Now, of Montreal are an unstoppable traveling circus, and you’d better hope you have tickets to the greatest show on earth when they come to your town, because it is a show not to be missed!

The show featured opening band Painted Palms, a dreamy synth-pop collective that started the night amidst yellow, green and blue lights. Their psychedelic bass thumping tunes from their current release Canopy will get you lost in the woods on a breezy summer afternoon right by a water fall, even in a hot stuffy music venue in New York City.

The follow up to this scene was quite the opposite. It began with the entrance of of Montreal aficionado and Kevin’s brother David Barnes revving up the crowd in a suit. This was followed by some scantily clad ladies in flesh-tone unitards, and men baring capes and colors of the American flag. The set started with the tune “L’age D’or” off their latest E.P. thecontrollersphere. “For Our Elegant Caste” followed as Kevin sang the first line “We can do it softcore if you want/but you should know I take it both ways”. It’s actually Kevin’s alter ego “Georgie Fruit” who is the protagonist in the story, not Kevin himself, but that doesn’t stop the girls and guys from screaming their heads off.

The theatrics continued through out the night as they performed songs mostly from Skeletal Lamping, and “False Priest”, with an interlude of “My Bloody Valentine” performed by drummer Clayton Rychlik. You name it, it was on the stage, Painted Palms even joined in for a few songs and skits. Some of the stagecraft includes lucha-libre stylized mask and wrestling matches, a reenacted wedding, men in nude big breasted costumes, pig faces, booty shaking girls (and boys), balloons, streamers, and that’s not even everything!

Even with all antics on the stage, they performed an unyielding set without missing a beat.
Towards the end of the encore Kevin threw on a mask and pinned down some opponents which was followed by members of the band crowd surfing. Finally, at the end of the show, multi-instrumentalist K Ishibashi performed “America the Beautiful” solo on the violin while the audience sang only to have it turn into an official hoedown on the stage moments later. Though the photos capture a play by play of the show, it is nothing compared to the spectacle everyone witnessed. Wherever this journey continues to take of Montreal, I will be right there with them, and from the looks of it they are going to continue to flourish no matter where it is the freak train drops them off. Perhaps I should invest in a feathered boa and some glitter huh?

All of the Of Montreal Lollapalooza and tour dates news this week has put me in the OM spirit. The band has definitely been making waves at the festival this year and all of this talk makes us jealous that we aren’t there! Today’s Secondhand Sunday features the song that started the band’s mega transformation, ‘Disconnect the Dots’. Sure it had some heads scratching at the time but it also went along with a lot of, well, dancing. Correct is of we’re wrong but it was also the band’s first video and features the artwork of Kevin’s brother, David Barnes who also along side Kevin’s wife, Nina, does all of the artwork for the band. This was the beginning of things to come.

Ah, remember the days when Lollapalooza got, well to say the least really crappy and they toured with the festival and no one cared to see it anymore? Well since Lollapalooza has stationed itself permanently as a festival in Chicago, the quality of bands have been getting better every year. Thus, making me wish that Lollapalooza actually was a touring venture again. Just reading the lineup for the three day event makes my head want to explode with excitement. The best thing about the show is the wide range of bands.

The festival takes place at Grant Park in Chicago from August 7th to August 9th. Unless a bag of money falls from the sky there is no possible way for us to be there. Sad. Let us know how it goes kids.

As much as I adore Of Montreal’s new songs in their original form, there is something about the feeling of Kevin Barnes and BP Helium performing the songs acoustically. We’ve been seeing this for a while from the band, as they are no strangers to these kind of performances. Every song they strip down just seems so beautiful and raw. Barnes and Helium have stopped by 89.7 WTMD and 90.7 WFUV (New York shoutout, what?) on the current tour to provide us with great versions of ‘Beware Our Nubile Miscreants’, a new song ‘Coquet Coquet’ and a cover of The Beatles ‘I’m So Tired.’ Of Montreal, is there no end to your greatness?

On a side note, I seem somewhat distracted by BP’s new moustache. Who isn’t?

Oh, we just love the sound of that title. Jon Brion who is an incredible songwriter and has penned tracks for such movies as ‘I Heart Huckabees’ comes together with everyone’s favorite indie glam group, Of Montreal. This week, Of Montreal will release the ‘Jon Brion Remix’ EP.

The great thing about this upcoming EP is that Jon Brion doesn’t make all of the band’s songs sound absolutely weird. There is nothing more awkward than a remix that mashes up a song so much that it is barely recognizable. Jon Brion remixes every Of Montreal song beautifully, and keeps what we love most about the band. Themselves.

Its been a big 2008 for Modern Mystery. We’ve meet some really amazing bands, seen some incredible shows, and made a lot of great friends. We know 2009 will bring even more and we’re very excited!

We have compiled our list of our Top 50 Albums of 2008. Though this was by no means easy, we think we’ve included our all of certain favorites of the year. Below our list you’ll see a few more Top Lists of 2008, so check that out as well. Hope you like our Top 50 Albums as much as we do!